Thanks you two! We're posting some more pics tonight because we really want to get up to speed here so we can get to the other side ... and to an ever-growing list of questions and things to do!

A few small details worth mentioning. Found a big piece of interesting driftwood while beachcombing that really did look like part of the wreckage of a ship, and after giving it a thick coat of poly seal we mounted it with L-brackets to the side entrance of the Wreck Bar:

Mike had the idea to use part of an old stepladder to make it look like a ship ladder coming down from the ceiling ... plus, this would mean more much-needed surface area for "stuff" ... and what have you know, but the next day we saw someone throwing out the most beat up, trashed, weather worn broken down stepladder you've ever seen. In other words: perfect! It was already broken in half and weighed about two pounds because the wood was so rotten. So we carefully stained it and put on the poly, which is really what is probably holding it together. There were metal discs on the sides and we painted them to match the Witco stuff:

Then mounted it up from the ceiling and used the rungs to hold our Wreck Bar memorabilia:

We knew we had to make some fake poles for the Wreck Bar, but the challenge was that we didn't want to ruin the floor when doing so. We took some large fence posts from the lumber yard and let them sit out in the garage for a month so that they would begin to warp. Then we painted them with the same greenish blue from behind the bar and more polyurethane. Then using some plumbing cap connectors and shins we were able to secure them very strongly to the ceiling, and covered the tops and bottoms with rope. Because they're so warped they're a little bit crooked and look like they're going to give way:

The next big step was to set up the 'live mermaid show' behind the bar. We set up the area by making a hole in the wall and putting down a platform that was low enough below the hole so that you couldn't see it from the bar:

Then this whole area was put 'under water' with the aid of shower curtains of just the right watery shade:

But to make it look about two fathoms down required just the right lighting. This part took a lot of tweaking to get the light to have the same watery glow as the other portholes, but we eventually saw the light:

Now legend has it that Treasure Island, Florida had originally gotten its name from a buried treasure that was somewhere off its shore ... and we read how in the early 50s the group of developers who were known as The Rat Pack of Treasure Island had pulled a stunt where they had buried a huge sea chest not far from shore and made a big deal about unearthing it ... or maybe this happened in the 1940s ... and maybe we found the old sea chest, but in any event we had to set it up so that it would be right at home in there with the mermaid:

Then the mermaid herself -- we found one at a local prop store. She was a vintage store mannequin and we outfitted her with shells, fins, and wig.

The homemade shell top:

The mermaid:

Then the hole was covered by a plexiglas porthole and mounted with the same brass nautical fixtures as the other portholes, and surrounded the edge with heavy nautical rope:

Before we turn on the lights for the show, here's the mermaid's view of the hut and bar area:

Careless Navigator. Thank you, I have been trying to remember the name of that place for a long time. On the way out kids got to pick a treat out of the treasure chest. Paper pirate hats and kid friendly grog bowls.
Used to love going there. The room is looking amazing.
_________________"Primitive man's work has become modern man's leisure."